Common Core at the Crossroads

Michael J. Feuer, George Washington University Graduate
School of Education and Human Development

Caroline Hendrie, Education Writers Association

8:15 a.m. Ten Takeaways on Where States Stand
on Common Core

An intensive survey of state
officials by the Center on Education Policy offers insight into
the challenges facing states as they implement Common Core State
Standards. Topics covered include how states are working with
higher education institutions, gearing up for assessments, and
preparing teachers and principals for the transition.

Maria Voles Ferguson, Center on Education Policy

Diane Stark Rentner, Center for Education Policy

9:00 a.m. Opportunities and Risks – Practical
Issues with the Rollout

The political debate about Common Core is ongoing, but other
issues are coming to the fore. What are the checks and balances
amid the frenzy of products purportedly aligned to the standards?
How are states and districts engaging parents? Will colleges
accept that high school graduates educated to the standards are
college-ready? Our panelists address these and other issues.

John Engler, Business Roundtable

Lillian M. Lowery, Maryland State Department of Education

Michael McShane, American Enterprise Institute

Randi Weingarten, American Federation of Teachers

Interviewed by Motoko Rich, The New York Times

10:00 a.m. Session Takeaways and Story Ideas (Cindy
Johnston, NPR)

10:15 a.m. BREAK

10:30 a.m. Putting Common Core in Context – Why It
Matters

A key impetus for the Common Core State Standards has been
American students’ standing in the world. The authors of two
recent books on countries that fare well in international
comparisons place the current U.S. initiative in its global
context.

This item appears in

Growing public distrust, cagey lawmakers and big money from all
directions—it’s not just the standards and assessments that are
common in the roll out of the Common Core State Standards.

Despite the pushback, the standards are fast becoming a reality
across the country. What does that mean for education and the
journalists who cover it? Are the standards making a dramatic
difference in the way teachers work? How well have school
districts planned their curricula around Common Core?